On Election Day, I caught a glimpse of how America’s moral leadership is eroding in the eyes of Eastern Europeans. I was working with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a regional security organization stretching from Vancouver to Vladivostok. The U.S. is one of the OSCE’s 55 participating states, and through it has pressed for democratization in Europe’s formerly Communist nations since the Cold War.
The newly released United Nations report, A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility has the potential to reshape the United Nations and redefine collective security. A core premise of the report is that today’s “threats recognize no national boundaries, are connected, and must be addressed at the global and regional as well as the national levels.” It is a “must read” for anyone who cares about international affairs.
Allegedly a camel is a horse designed by a committee. Well the “High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change” that Kofi Annan asked to study how the UN copes with the threats of the new century was certainly a committee, and their report, A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility, certainly has some aspects of a camel. I would guess it to be Bactrian from the two outstanding humps that have been added to get a consensus.
As the full extent of the destruction and death the tsunami wrought in South Asia becomes clear, significant aid pledges are finally pouring in. While the U.S. is beginning to respond, little attention is being paid in the public debate to the need for effective development assistance for South Asia in the medium to long term. Comparisons of what the U.S. is doing for disaster relief relative to other nations are obscuring the need for a sober assessment of how well U.S. aid measures up compared to the actual need. The White House is drafting its 2006 budget this month, so this is an important opportunity to expose how the U.S. falls short when it comes to providing aid commensurate with its wealth.
The recent South Asian tsunamiÂs devastation has already claimed at least 144,000 lives, caused countless injuries and wiped out entire villages. Concern now turns to the escalating death count caused by the spread of disease.
Jubilant over President George W. Bush maintaining his position for another four years, neoconservatives who played a leading role in shaping the radical trajectory of U.S. foreign policy after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks appear increasingly divided on key issues and uncertain of their position in BushÂs second term.
Good governance. Consultation. Participation.
This is a time for a Marxist view of foreign policy. As Chico said, “There ain’t no Sanity Clause,” in Washington.
Incredibly, just as President Bush begins his second term with a real need to restore U.S. international standing, he chose John D. Negroponte to head the newly restructured intelligence system. Negroponte, based on the record of his 40-plus years in the State Department, has no credibility at all.